5 surprising things that 1960s TV changed

By Katie McLaughlin, CNN

Updated 3:45 PM ET, Mon August 25, 2014

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – By 1960, television was firmly entrenched as America's new hearth. Close to 90% of households had a TV, making the device almost ubiquitous. The ensuing decade would see the medium grow in both importance and range.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The first televised presidential debate was on September 26, 1960, and it involved U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, left, and Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The debate is largely credited with helping to make a star out of Kennedy, who won the election later that year.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – First lady Jackie Kennedy is shown in the Red Room of the White House on January 15, 1962, during the CBS News special program "A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy." The program showed off the restoration work that was spearheaded by the first lady.

Defining moments in 1960s television – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd in Washington during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as the Freedom March, on August 28, 1963. The speech is considered one of the most important in American history, and it helped rally support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Defining moments in 1960s television – Two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald -- the man who had been charged with killing the president -- was fatally shot by Jack Ruby as Oswald was being escorted through the Dallas police basement. Oswald's shooting was shown live on national television.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – In 1963's thrilling Army-Navy game, Navy beat Army 21-15 behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Roger Staubach. Today, the game is best remembered for the introduction of instant replay -- though many TV watchers were unaware of the technology and slammed CBS' switchboard in confusion. Now instant replay is a regular part of sports broadcasts.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their U.S. debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show," kicking off the American strain of "Beatlemania" -- a fever that had already infected their native Britain. The show remains one of the highest-rated entertainment programs of all time.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC," the announcer intoned. The 1965 fall season opened with almost all of the "Peacock Network's" prime-time schedule produced on color film. By 1973, more than half of TV homes had a color set.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – "A Charlie Brown Christmas" could have been a bland animated special, but thanks to "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz and his collaborators, it was something more. The show, which first aired in 1965, didn't use a laugh track. It included a jazz music score and -- most controversially -- featured Linus reading from the Gospel of Luke. The special was both a critical and commercial hit, and it has become a holiday mainstay.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The two-part finale of "The Fugitive," which aired in August 1967, concluded the four-year run of the series about a doctor (David Janssen) pursuing a mysterious one-armed man (Bill Raisch) he believes killed his wife. The final episode was the most-watched series episode to that time, with more than 45% of the nation tuning in.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" had a countercultural bent that regularly raised hackles -- and delighted fans. Here, The Who's Pete Townshend, right, helps host Tom Smothers destroy his acoustic guitar as singer Roger Daltrey looks on following The Who's performance of "My Generation." The Smothers' battles with their network, CBS, would eventually lead to the show's cancellation.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – CBS anchor Walter Cronkite reports from Vietnam after the Tet Offensive in 1968. Cronkite's special, "Report from Vietnam by Walter Cronkite," concluded with his observation that the war would end in a stalemate. One month later, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not seek re-election.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The 1968 Democratic Convention, held in Chicago, was a scene of chaos both inside and outside the convention hall. At one point, CBS correspondent Dan Rather, center, was treated roughly by security, prompting anchor Cronkite to comment, "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here, Dan." Outside, protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The 1968 presidential campaign went down to the wire, and little things may have made the difference -- such as Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, going on the popular "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" to say one of the show's catchphrases: "Sock it to me." Here, Nixon is flanked by Dan Rowan, left, and Dick Martin at an event in October 1968.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – In September 1968, the newsmagazine "60 Minutes" -- created and produced by Don Hewitt, center -- premiered with Harry Reasoner, left, and Mike Wallace, right. The tremendously influential show spawned a host of imitators and is still on the air today.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – Viewers hoping to see the wild conclusion of the AFL game between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders got a huge shock on November 17, 1968, when the broadcast was cut off so NBC could air a movie version of "Heidi" starring Jennifer Edwards. Angry fans flooded NBC's switchboard with calls. From then on, all networks stayed with their football contests until the end before moving to regularly scheduled programming. (The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the final minute to come back and beat the Jets in what would forever be known as "The Heidi Game.")

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – In the "Plato's Stepchildren" episode of "Star Trek," which aired November 22, 1968, William Shatner (as Capt. Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (as Lt. Uhura) kissed -- the first interracial kiss in TV history. The medium grappled cautiously with race relations through the decade.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. salutes the U.S. flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. Aldrin and mission commander Neil Armstrong became the first humans to walk on the moon. Globally, more than half a billion people watched on television.

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Story highlights

In the '60s, Americans came to rely on TV for information and entertainment

With the Kennedy-Nixon debate, TV changed political campaigns

Shows, like "The Twilight Zone," tackled hot-button issues like racism

It's hard for today's generation to imagine watching TV in the 1960s -- there was no TiVo or DVR (or even VCR). You watched what the networks put on and that was it.

And oh yeah, there were only three channels.

Yet television made some groundbreaking advancements in this decade as we learned from this week's episode of "The Sixties," and here are a few of them:

1. Television becomes a political force

By 1960, most American households had a television, and that year's Nixon/Kennedy debate was the first televised presidential debate. For many Americans, it was their first introduction to John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy was approached about the idea of debating his political opponent on television, he agreed immediately.

Kennedy was comfortable on-camera and sure he'd win. Nixon, however, began to sweat during the televised debate, and the American people began to doubt him.

No one realized just how much TV mattered until after those 1960 debates.

Later that election season, Kennedy appeared as a guest on NBC's "The Jack Parr Tonight Show"; and when Nixon ran for president again in 1968, he made a brief appearance on the sketch comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and uttered the show's famous catchphrase, "Sock it to me." It was the first time a presidential candidate had appeared on a comedy show.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

60 iconic moments from the 1960s – Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll defined the 1960s. But the decade was also a time of pivotal change — politically, socially and technologically. Check out 60 of the most iconic moments of the decade.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The 'Greensboro Four' – On February 1, 1960, four African-American college students made history just by sitting down at a whites-only lunch counter at a Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina. Service never came for the "Greensboro Four," as they came to be known, and their peaceful demonstration drew national attention and sparked more "sit-ins" in Southern cities.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Elvis discharged from the military – Elvis Presley's musical heyday was in the 1950s, but he remained a major star in the 1960s. Here, Presley, 25, is pictured with his future wife, Priscilla, shortly before his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1960. Presley served two years in the Army.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Sharpeville massacre in South Africa – Wounded people in South Africa's Sharpeville township lie in the street on March 21, 1960, after police opened fire on black demonstrators marching against the country's segregation system known as apartheid. At least 180 black Africans, most of them women and children, were injured and 69 were killed in the Sharpeville massacre that signaled the start of armed resistance against apartheid.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The laser is born – Theodore Maiman pours liquid nitrogen into a cooling unit around one of the first experimental lasers in his laboratory in Santa Monica, California. Maiman's ruby laser, created on May 16, 1960, is considered to be one of the top technological achievements of the 20th century. It paved the way for fiber-optic communications, CDs, DVDs and sight-restoring surgery.

Nixon-Kennedy debate – The first televised presidential debate was on September 26, 1960, and it involved U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, left, and Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The debate is largely credited with helping to make a star out of Kennedy, who won the election later that year.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Bay of Pigs invasion – Cuban leader Fidel Castro, lower right, sits inside a tank near Playa Giron, Cuba, during the Bay of Pigs invasion on April 17, 1961. On that day, about 1,500 CIA-backed Cuban exiles landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs in hopes of triggering an uprising against Castro. It was a complete disaster for President John F. Kennedy's fledgling administration.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Sex and the Single Girl' – Helen Gurley Brown, editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, published her book "Sex and the Single Girl" in 1962. The book helped spark the sexual revolution and popularize the notion that the modern woman could "have it all," including a successful career and a fulfilling sex life.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First interactive video game – In 1962, Massachusetts Institute of Technology students Steve Russell, Martin "Shag" Graetz and Alan Kotok created "Spacewar!" which is widely considered the first interactive video game. Dueling players fired at each other's spaceships using early versions of joysticks. This photo shows the three "Spacewar!" inventors playing the game at Boston's Computer Museum in 1983.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Turn on, tune in, drop out' – The drug LSD became popular in the 1960s, leading the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to designate it an experimental drug in 1962. Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary, pictured here, became an advocate for the drug, coining the phrase, "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First James Bond movie – Before Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan, there was Sean Connery, who starred in the first James Bond film, "Dr. No," in 1962. With the most recent Bond film released in 2012 ("Skyfall"), the James Bond series is the longest running film series of all time.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Marilyn Monroe dies – Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her apartment on August 5, 1962, at the age of 36. Officials ruled her death as probable suicide from sleeping pill overdose, but to this day there remain many conspiracy theories.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Spider-Man arrives – The No. 15 issue of the "Amazing Fantasy" comic book series, published August 10, 1962, marked the first appearance of Spider-Man. The issue is one of the most valuable comics of all time.

Cuban missile crisis – U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivers a nationally televised address about the Cuban missile crisis on October 22, 1962. After learning that the Soviet Union had begun shipping missiles to Cuba, Kennedy announced a strategic blockade of Cuba and warned the Soviet Union that the U.S. would seize any more deliveries.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Boeing 727 debuts – Crowds in Seattle gather for the first viewing of the Boeing 727 jet in December 1962. The aircraft's first flight would take place on February 9, 1963. The 727 is credited with opening the door to domestic travel for millions of everyday Americans.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Polaroid adds color – Inventor Edwin Land, president and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, demonstrates his company's new instant-color film in 1963.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'The Feminine Mystique' – Betty Friedan energized the feminist movement in 1963 with her book "The Feminine Mystique." The book detailed the frustration of women who were expected to rely on their husbands and children for their happiness.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Patsy Cline's death – Patsy Cline performs at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in this undated photo. The country music star and three others were killed in a plane crash March 5, 1963, near Camden, Tennessee.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The Beatles' first album – The Beatles released their first album, "Please Please Me," in the United Kingdom on March 22, 1963. Here, the band is honored on November 18, 1963, for the massive sales of albums "Please Please Me" and "With the Beatles."

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Alabama governor resists desegregation – Federal Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, standing on the right, confronts Alabama Gov. George Wallace at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on June 11, 1963. Wallace is standing in the doorway to prevent two African-American students from entering despite a presidential order. Wallace, who was pro-segregation, later stood aside.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Medgar Evers assassinated – Myrlie Evers, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, comforts their son Darrell while their daughter, Reena, wipes her tears during Evers' funeral on June 18, 1963. Evers was assassinated days earlier at his home in Jackson, Mississippi.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

JFK's Berlin speech – U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivers his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") speech to a massive crowd in West Berlin on June 26, 1963.

Cronkite becomes anchor – Walter Cronkite sits behind the news desk on the set of the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" in August 1963. One month later, it became network television's first nightly half-hour news program.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Birmingham church bombing – A coffin is loaded into a hearse at a funeral in Birmingham, Alabama, for victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Four African-American girls were killed and at least 14 others were wounded when a bomb blast tore through church services on September 15, 1963. Three former Ku Klux Klan members were later convicted of murder for the bombing.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First push-button phone – The first push-button telephone was made available to AT&T customers on November 18, 1963. The phone had extension buttons at the bottom for office use.

Instant replay debuts – CBS used instant replay for the first time during the airing of the Army-Navy game that took place December 7, 1963, in Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Berlin Wall opens – More than two years after it was constructed, the Berlin Wall opened for the first time on December 20, 1963, allowing citizens of West Berlin to visit their relatives in communist East Berlin.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Warhol and pop art – Artist Andy Warhol stands in the doorway of his studio, the Factory, in 1964, holding the acetate he used to make his famous Marilyn Monroe paintings. Warhol's work centered on famous personalities and iconic American objects, making him a leading figure in the pop art movement.

Ali becomes heavyweight champ – Boxer Muhammad Ali — then known as Cassius Clay — upsets Sonny Liston in a heavyweight title fight in Miami Beach, Florida, on February 25, 1964. He was 22 years old. A short time later, Clay joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Ford Mustang debuts – The 1965 Ford Mustang was first officially revealed to the public at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. Standard equipment included carpet, bucket seats and a 170-cubic-inch, six-cylinder engine that was coupled with a three-speed floor-shift transmission. With a price that started at just under $2,400, the car captured America's affection and is still being produced today.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Mandela sentenced to life in prison – South African resistance leader Nelson Mandela, left, talks to Cape Town teacher C Andrews in 1964. On June 12, 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for four counts of sabotage. He was released 27 years later, and when apartheid ended he became the country's first black president.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Civil Rights Act of 1964 – After signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes hands with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The legislation outlawed discrimination in public places and banned discrimination based on race, gender, religion or national origin. It also encouraged the desegregation of public schools.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Daisy Girl' ad – "Peace, Little Girl," a 1964 political ad for U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, was arguably the most famous — and the most negative — campaign ad in U.S. history. The ad, which played only once, showed a little girl counting daisy petals before an image of a nuclear explosion. Known as the "Daisy Girl" ad, it was credited with helping Johnson defeat U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater in the landslide 1964 election.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

U.S. troops in South Vietnam – On February 9, 1965, the United States deployed its first combat troops to South Vietnam, significantly escalating its role in the war. Here, the U.S. Marines' 163rd Helicopter Squadron discharges South Vietnamese troops for an assault against the Viet Cong hidden along the tree line in the background.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Malcolm X assassinated – Civil rights activist Malcolm X is carried from the Audubon Ballroom in New York, where he had just been shot on February 21, 1965. He died shortly after.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Bloody Sunday' – State troopers swing batons to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. "Bloody Sunday," as it became known, helped fuel the drive for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Voting Rights Act – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson hands a pen to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. The landmark legislation helped protect minorities who had previously encountered unfair barriers to voting.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The Watts Riots – Two youths, carrying lampshades from a looted store, run down a street in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 13, 1965. The Watts Riots were sparked by tensions between the city's black residents and police. The six days of violence left 34 dead and resulted in $40 million of property damage.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Batman' – The "Batman" TV series debuted in 1966, starring Adam West as the Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as his sidekick, Robin. The show aired for only three seasons, but it was a pop culture sensation at the time and a cult classic for future generations. There was also a feature film in 1966.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

China's Cultural Revolution – Chinese leader Mao Zedong, standing front and center, rides through a Tiananmen Square rally in Beijing in 1966. In May of that year, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to enforce communism and get rid of old institutions and his political enemies. The political movement careened out of control and led to massive political purges, deaths and destruction before it ended in 1976.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First Super Bowl – The Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs played the first Super Bowl on January 15, 1967, in Los Angeles. The Packers won the football game 35-10.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Six-Day War – Israeli soldiers stand in front of the Western Wall on June 9, 1967, in the old city of Jerusalem following its recapture from Jordanian rule in the Six-Day War.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Marshall on Supreme Court – Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, with his family at his side, takes his seat at the court for the first time on October 2, 1967. Marshall was the first African-American to be appointed to the high court.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Anti-Vietnam protests – A demonstrator offers a flower to military police at the Pentagon during an anti-Vietnam protest in Washington on October 21, 1967. Marches such as this one helped turn public opinion against the war.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First human heart transplant – Dr. Christiaan Barnard is shown after performing the first human heart transplant on patient Louis Washkansky on December 3, 1967, in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Tet Offensive – South Vietnamese Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police, executes suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem — also known as Bay Lop — on a Saigon street on February 1, 1968. It was early in the Tet Offensive, one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

My Lai massacre – Houses in My Lai, South Vietnam, burn during the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968. American troops came to the remote hamlet and killed hundreds of unarmed civilians. The incident, one of the darkest moments of the Vietnam War, further increased opposition to U.S. involvement in the war.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Martin Luther King assassinated – This photo was taken on April 4, 1968, moments after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper as he stood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Robert F. Kennedy assassinated – U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of former President John F. Kennedy, was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles. Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of assassinating Kennedy and wounding five other people inside the kitchen service pantry of the former Ambassador Hotel.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Democratic National Convention unrest – Members of the New York delegation protest against the Vietnam War during the 1968 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago. Outside, riots erupted, with tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters clashing with Chicago police and National Guard forces.

First men on the moon – Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. salutes the U.S. flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. Aldrin and mission commander Neil Armstrong became the first humans to walk on the moon. Their mission was considered an American victory in the Cold War and subsequent space race, meeting President Kennedy's goal of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely" before the end of the decade.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Woodstock Music Festival – Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who perform on stage at the Woodstock Music Festival in Bethel, New York. An estimated 400,000 people attended the festival, which took place in August 1969.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Manson murders – Cult leader Charles Manson is taken into court to face murder charges on December 5, 1969, in Los Angeles. At Manson's command, a small group of his most ardent followers brutally murdered five people at the Los Angeles home of film director Roman Polanski on August 8-9, 1969, including Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. Manson was convicted for orchestrating the murders and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Forebear of the Internet – With the help of a handful of leading universities and other labs, work began on a project to directly link a number of computers. In 1969, with money from the U.S. Defense Department, the first node of this network was installed on the campus of UCLA. The diagram shows the "network of networks" of ARPANET, as it was called. The forebear of the Internet was born. What did the '60s look like to you? Share your photos here.

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For the rest of his life, Nixon maintained that his appearance on "Laugh-In" won him the 1968 election.

So while TV arguably cost Nixon the election once, it may very well have snagged him the election the second time around.

Before the Kennedy presidency, television was far behind print journalism in terms of sources audiences relied upon for news. But soon, people relied on TV news for the day's headlines as well as information on American troops in Vietnam, particularly the numbers of those killed or wounded.

When something major happened on TV, it affected the whole country at the same exact time.

TV news was the polar opposite of entertainment TV. The civil rights era, the JFK assassination and the space race all unfolded on TV.

As David Brinkley stated, "Television showed the American people TO the American people."

During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, 83 million Americans were glued to their television sets as 10,000 antiwar protesters outside the Chicago Hilton chanted, "The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!" over and over as police pushed the crowd off Chicago's Balbo Drive.

3. TV reaches a broader audience

"The TV was the center of the house," recalled Tom Hanks, one of the executive producers of CNN's "The Sixties" series. "I don't remember a time without TV."

Remember, there were only three channels (CBS, NBC and ABC) during the decade, and usually only one TV set per household. There were no "for mature audiences only" warnings.

The syrupy sitcoms of the 1950s made way for shows such as "The Dick van Dyke Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show." These showcased more realistic situations, although there were still the same idealized versions of humanity as the previous decade.

Griffith has stated that he put the best parts of himself and the people in his life into the inhabitants of the fictional town of Mayberry to achieve a blend of emotional honesty and laughs. That blueprint served as the benchmark for sitcoms for decades to come.

"Leave It to Beaver," which aired from 1957 to 1963, was the first show shot from the perspective of a child, bringing to life those universal embarrassing moments from childhood that kids were certain they'd never overcome, such as bringing home a bad grade or approaching the object of one's affection.

Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Miami resident Craig Riegelhaupt recalls taking this "nerdy family" photo when they moved to the city in 1967. "The bows in my mother's and sister's hair, and my red bow tie and horn-rimmed glasses epitomize the look of the 1960s."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Kathi Cordsen's sister and three of her cousins are seen here posing in Cypress, California, in 1969, showing off the styles of the era.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Cordsen -- whose mother, aunt and grandmother are seen here on vacation in 1967 -- remembers how her mother wore hot pants but she was not allowed to wear them. It wasn't until 1970 that "we were finally allowed to wear slacks to school. Up until that time the only time we (students) could wear slacks was if it was raining."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Janie Lambert, left, said she could only dress as her "strict parents wanted me to" growing up in Tennessee in the 1960s. "I would hike my skirts up and safety pin them when I got to school. Once my dad picked me up and boy, was I busted."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – The Hughesville, Maryland, resident posed with her high school sweetheart and future husband at Christmas in 1969. "I loved the British Mod look and models like Pattie Boyd and actress Jane Asher."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Lidija Gorinas loved getting these fashionable robes for her 21st birthday, along with her twin, Milda, in 1967. "Mod worked for me (I was no flower child). Those were the days, my friend."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Lisa Papworth-Buckland, bottom left, went to visit her grandfather's grave in Los Angeles in 1969 and recalls her mother's fashion sensibilities. Later, after her parents' divorce, she "moved into a dome house in Box Canyon and we lived the pure hippie life."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Lydia Gorinas, far right, her twin sister and her friends enjoy a Christmas Eve together in Chicago in 1967. "I loved the '60s very much," Gorinas says. "It was when 'mod' was a noun ... not an adjective as it is now."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Marjorie Zien, second from left, was 10 years old in 1967 when this photo was taken at her Aunt Fran's annual New Year's Eve party. She wore her "really cool mirrored vest" her uncle brought back from Pakistan and a handmade A-line skirt. Her sister, far right, sported a Nehru collar dress accessorized with a medallion necklace.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Josh Johnson's grandparents pose with their kids in Georgia in 1967. "I think the fashion of the 1960s had a different kind of character that is missing in today's style," Johnson says. "I think it was classier and much more respectable."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – In 1967, Patricia Anne Alfano was a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. She says the style in the '60s was much more conservative than it is today.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Nikki C. Morris wore a yellow dress and white gloves for her prom in 1967, but she says '60s fashion was too colorful for her taste. "I remember thinking that most of the dresses and the girls wearing them looked like Easter eggs," Morris says. "I wasn't a fan."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Natalie Montanaro, right, and her sister took a photo before their first Holy Communion in 1967. She says many women in the 1960s copied Jackie Kennedy's look. "Really, my favorite look was the short, cropped jackets with A-line knee-length skirts and a pillbox hat with gloves for church," she says.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Milda Contoyannis and her friend show off their dance moves at a house party in 1967. She wore her favorite minidress, and her friend wore a jacket and an ascot tie. "Nothing compares to the '60s," Contoyannis says. "You had to be there when it was happening."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Julio Camerini shared a photo from 1969 of his ninth birthday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He says back then Brazil was influenced by the U.S. when it came to music and fashion. "Rock and Roll dominated the programming on radios, and so did mini skirts," he said.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Miriam Cintron, right, used an iron and an ironing board to straighten her hair in 1968. "I preferred a more hippie look, but as I said, a clean hippie, not a shoeless one," she says.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Keith Long took this picture of his wife in 1969 on the running board of a steam engine in England. "Sixties fashion was a changing decade -- very dated in the early part and trendy and totally different at the end," Long says.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Rob Bernstein shared a photo of his mother in the late 1960s dressed for an evening event in Acton, Massachusetts. He says fashion back then was a lot more formal than today, but they also wore "crazy colors" too.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Michelle Jones stands with her sister and parents outside her grandparents' home in Newton, Massachusetts, in this 1968 photograph. "I loved the outfits my mom wore. Always the latest fashion. Big eyelashes and big makeup," she said.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Dianne Artley, in the spring of 1967, at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. "In spite of living in a fearful time because of the Vietnam war, there was a sense of hope as everything was changing at warp speed," she said.Click the double arrow to see more photos.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – At 5 years old, Julie West wore a matching coat and hat in 1967. "I fancied myself a movie star or model wearing them," she says. "My mom really liked to dress nicely. Once she settled into her life in Chicago, she loved to shop and always made sure we wore the latest fashions."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Niena Sevilla's father attended a New Year's Eve party in the Philippines in 1968. Her dad, 18 years old at the time, danced with one of the partygoers he met at the event. "Women of the '60's were so natural," Sevilla says.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Janie Lambert, pictured in 1968, says Patti Boyd was one of her favorite models, and she loved 1960s fashion -- particularly the "mod" look. "I much prefer the '60s fashion over that of today and am happy to see the style returning once again," she says. "Loud, groovy but tasteful."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Raymond Johnson, right, poses with his friend on their high school graduation day in 1968. "There are no dress codes today, so young people are free to choose what they like and feel is most comfortable," he says. "That in itself is a giant leap from the '60s."

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Dominica Lim's mom, far left, wears a tie and bell-bottom pants as she poses for a picture with her friends in South Korea in 1969. "I think the fashion of the 1960s was very classy with a touch of fun," Lim says.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Teri Coley Adams' parents enjoy an evening in Oahu, Hawaii, in 1969. Her dad is wearing a thin striped tie and a sports jacket. Her mom has on a red linen dress with a matching satin red peacock scarf. "As I recall, the dress was pretty short, well above Mom's knees, but she had the legs for it," Adams says.

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Photos:The late '60s through your eyes

The late '60s through your eyes – Cynthia Carr Falardeau says this family photo from 1969 represents "a time of innocence."

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes hands with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. after signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The LBJ Presidential Library is hosting a Civil Rights Summit this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the legislation.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier, poses in the dugout with some of his Brooklyn Dodgers teammates during his first game on April 15, 1947.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Rosa Parks poses for her booking photo after she was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Students of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, shout insults at Elizabeth Eckford as she walks toward the school building on the first day of school in 1957. Schools in Arkansas integrated races after the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – As part of his training for sit-in protests in 1960, student Virginius Thornton practices not reacting to smoke being blown in his face.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Freedom Riders sit on a bus during a trip from Montgomery to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961. The Freedom Riders would brave mobs and endure savage beatings to desegregate interstate travel.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – A black woman and a white woman sit next to each other at a New York City restaurant in 1962.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – A police dog jumps at a 17-year-old civil rights demonstrator in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 3, 1963. The image appeared on the front page of The New York Times the next day.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Firefighters turn their hoses on demonstrators in Birmingham in July 1963. When civil rights protesters stalled in Birmingham, the city's African-American children took to the streets. Their bravery facing water hoses and dogs riveted the nation.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – King addresses the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – People gather on the National Mall during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Sarah Jean Collins, 12, lies in bed after being blinded by the dynamite that killed her sister in the bombing of a Birmingham church in September 1963. Four African-American girls were killed in the blast.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – The family of Carol Robertson, a 14-year-old girl killed in the church bombing, attend a graveside service for her in Birmingham on September 17, 1963.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – A 1964 FBI poster seeks information on the whereabouts of Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney and Michael Henry Schwerner. The three civil rights workers disappeared in rural Mississippi in the summer of 1964. Their bodies were found 44 days later. They had been tortured before they were murdered.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Nation Of Islam leader and civil rights activist Malcolm X poses for a portrait in 1965. Malcolm was a symbol of black defiance who ridiculed King's stance on nonviolence.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – The car belonging to Viola Liuzzo sits off the road near Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Liuzzo, a white housewife from Detroit, felt compelled to drive to Selma to help the civil rights movement after seeing demonstrators beaten on television. While driving on a deserted road in the small town one night, Liuzzo's car was run off the road and she was shot to death. Her death showed the nation that the civil rights movement was not just an African-American struggle -- it was an American struggle.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – Memphis sanitation workers hold signs with the slogan "I am a man" during a strike in 1968. Their campaign against discrimination and poor conditions in the workplace brought King to Memphis.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – King lies bleeding at the feet of other civil rights leaders after he was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and their daughter Yolanda sit in a car on their way to his funeral in Atlanta on April 9, 1968.

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Photos:The civil rights movement in photos

The civil rights movement in photos – U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos raise their fists in protest during the U.S. national anthem, which was being played after Smith won the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – The young band pose for a portrait in a boat, 1964. From left to right are: Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman. Bassist Wyman joined the Stones in 1962 before leaving in 1993.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Brian Jones performs at Alexandra Palace, London, in 1964. One of the founding members of the band, Jones was found dead in his pool at Cotchford Farm, Sussex, on July 2, 1969. He was 27.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts joined the band in 1963, earning a reputation as the more staid member. He married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964, remaining with her to this day.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Lead singer Mick Jagger is remanded in custody after being found guilty of possesion of drugs in 1967. He appeared before court in West Sussex after a police raid at fellow band member Keith Richards' house.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Keith Richards with girlfriend Anita Pallenberg and their two children at the Cannes Film Festival in 1971. Italian model Anita orginally dated Brian Jones before becoming Keith's partner from 1967 to 1979.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Mick Jagger and Nicaraguan girlfriend Bianca Perez Moreno De Macias marry in a small fisherman's church in St. Tropez, France, in 1971. Among the guests pictured are film director Roger Vadim, actress Nathalie Delon, photographer Patrick Lichfield, Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Ronnie Wood, pictured in Brussels, Belgium, in 1976. The guitarist joined the band the previous year, though he continued to collaborate with artists including Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Prince and Eric Clapton.

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Photos:50 years of the Rolling Stones

50 years of the Rolling Stones – Guitarist Keith Richards performs at the Aragone Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, in 1987. The songwriter collaborated with Mick Jagger on their first international number 1 hit "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" in 1965.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev speaks to the East German Communist Party Congress on January 14, 1963. His public statements in Berlin indicated the USSR did not immediately plan a full-scale revival of its efforts to force the Western occupation powers out of the former German capital. 1963 was a seminal year, not only because of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, but advances in technology, entertainment and evolving political relationships also kept the world on its toes.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Crowds gather for the first viewing of the Boeing 727 jet airliner in Seattle in December 1962. The aircraft's first flight would take place on February 9, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The American poet Sylvia Plath is shown in 1961. She took her own life on February 11, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Patsy Cline performs at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in this undated photo. The country music star and three others were killed on March 5, 1963, in the crash of a Piper Comanche near Camden, Tennessee.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – A line of handcuffed prisoners, the last convicts held at Alcatraz prison, walk through a cell block as they are transferred to other prisons from Alcatraz Island on San Francisco Bay, California, on March 21, 1963. Alcatraz, known as "The Rock," was a federal penitentiary for 29 years and a prison for more than a century.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The Beatles released their first album, "Please Please Me," in the United Kingdom on March 22, 1963. A 7-inch copy of the single, seen here, was signed on both sides by the Fab Four and sold in 2011 for more than £9,000.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – British film director Alfred Hitchcock poses with a seagull and a raven in a promotional still for his film "The Birds." The film was released on March 28, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The long-running soap opera "General Hospital" debuts on ABC television on April 1, 1963. It is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Josip Broz Tito is proclaimed president for life in the constitution of the newly named Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on April 7, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – David Bruce, the American ambassador to Britain, takes leave of Sir Winston Churchill at Hyde Park Gate, London, on April 10, 1963, after presenting the former British prime minister with a proclamation naming him the first honorary citizen of the United States, a title given to him the day before on April 9, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – On April 10, 1963, 129 men lost their lives when the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher sank during deep-dive testing off Cape Cod. The sub is seen here during its launch in 1960. The sinking is the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history and delivered a blow to national pride during the Cold War, becoming the impetus for safety improvements.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Buddy "Nature Boy" Rogers became the first WWWF Champion on April 29, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Sean Connery and Ursula Andress appear in a scene from the film "James Bond: Dr. No." The film premiered in the United States on May 8,1963, as the first James Bond film.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The late Pope John XXIII's body is borne across St. Peter's Square on June 4, 1963, to St. Peter's Basilica from the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace. He died the day before from a malignant stomach tumor.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The former British War Minister John Profumo returns to London after 14 days of absence on June 18, 1963. He resigned as British state secretary for war on June 5, after admitting he had lied in denying any "impropriety" with 21-year-old Christine Keeler. Profumo simultaneously resigned his seat in the House of Commons.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – President John F. Kennedy broadcast a historic civil rights address on June 11, 1963, in which he promised a Civil Rights Bill, and asked for "the kind of equality of treatment that we would want for ourselves."

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, burned himself to death on a Saigon street June 11, 1963, to protest alleged persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton appear in a publicity still for the film "Cleopatra," which premiered on June 12, 1963. The historical drama, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, starred Taylor as Cleopatra, and Burton as Mark Antony.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The June 28, 1963, LIFE cover of the child and widow of murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers at his funeral. Evers was assassinated in his home in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 12, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, returns to Earth on June 19, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – American President John F. Kennedy speaks to a massive crowd in Berlin on June 26, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Detectives inspecting the Royal Mail train from which more than £2.5 million was stolen. The Great Train Robbery took place in Buckinghamshire on August 8,1963, when the train from Glasgow to London was halted by a gang.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd on the National Mall in Washington during the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom, also known as the Freedom March, on August 28, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – United States representative Charles Stelle, left, and his Soviet counterpart, Seymon Tsarapkin, meet on June 20, 1963, in Geneva, to sign the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Establishment of a Direct Communications Line, an agreement to set up a hot line between the two superpowers. The "red phone" between Washington and Moscow was declared operational August 30, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Walter Cronkite sits behind the news desk on the set of the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite," New York in August 1963. Cronkite became the anchor of American network television's first nightly half-hour news program on September 2, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – A coffin is loaded into a hearse at a funeral for victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The Birmingham Church Bombing, also known as "Bloody Sunday," took place on September 15, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The Lamborghini 350GTV with the body by Franco Scaglione is launched at the Lamborghini Factory, Sant'Agata, Italy, in October 1963. Among the onlookers, with white hair and light-colored jacket, is Piero Taruffi, winner of the last Mille Miglia in 1957.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – On November 2, 1963, the American-aided leader of South Vietnam's anti-communist, Roman Catholic regime, President Ngo Dinh Diem was arrested and assassinated.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The first push-button telephone was introduced on February 28, 1963. It was made available to AT&T customers on November 18, 1963. The phone has extension buttons at the bottom for office use.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, ride in an open-top limousine just minutes before Kennedy was assassinated at Dealey Plaza in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – The first episode of the BBC television series "Doctor Who" was broadcast in the United Kingdom on November 23, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – Pierre Mazeaud, Gerard Gery, and Philippe Laffon watch as a new island, Surtsey, is formed from volcanic eruptions off the coast of Iceland on December 2, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – CBS used instant replay for the first time during the Army-Navy game from Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia on December 7, 1963.

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Photos:1963: From "General Hospital," to the death of a pope

In the year 1963 – On December 20, 1963, the wall that separated the city of Berlin for 2½ years was opened for the first time at Christmas as the result of an agreement between the two mayors.

That kid-centric model was later replicated in TV shows such as "The Wonder Years" and, more recently, "The Goldbergs."

Eventually, shows began blending that "reality" with fantasy, which led to copycats: "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters," "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie," and "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Green Acres."

4. The advent of the variety show

During the '60s, there were 18 variety shows going on three networks!

It's safe to say that television went "variety show crazy" for a while. Sunday night at 8 meant Ed Sullivan; but Dean Martin, Danny Kaye, Danny Thomas and Carol Burnett, to name a few, had eponymous variety-hour programs, too.

Variety was considered a man's game at the time, but Burnett broke down a lot of walls with her three-wall sketch show. She and her cast mates sang, danced and did pratfalls -- often breaking character and cracking one another up in the process. Kind of a precursor to SNL's Debbie Downer sketch or most of Jimmy Fallon's SNL sketches.

Through a fantasy/sci-fi lens, "The Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling often told stories of racism and fascism. Similarly, "Star Trek" addressed the notion of a time where social evolution has eradicated prejudice and mankind possesses no bias whatsoever. The space age series even featured TV's first interracial kiss, in which Capt. James Kirk tells Lt. Uhura, a black woman, "Where I come from, size, shape, or color makes no difference."

When Bill Cosby won the Emmy Award for male lead in "I Spy" in 1968, he stated in his acceptance speech, "We need more people in this industry to ... let it be known to the bigots and the racists that they don't count."

Incidentally, race was a nonissue in "I Spy." Cosby and actor Robert Culp, who was white, were equals in the series in which they played intelligence officers.

BONUS: There actually IS a legit reason why The Flying Nun can "fly"

The explanation: She weighs 90 pounds and the combination of her cornet and the wind lifts her. Totally makes sense. Now if only someone could explain how The Professor made all those nifty contraptions -- usually out of coconuts -- but couldn't cobble together a (coconut) raft to get the gang off "Gilligan's Island."